''Man Descending'' is a collection of short stories written by Saskatchewan-born writer

Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, '' The Englishman's Boy'', ''The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Can ...

. The book was first published by Macmillan of Canada in 1982 and Vanderhaeghe went on to become one of the few first-time authors to win the coveted Governor General's Award for Fiction for this work. It also won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. The book consists of 12 stories covering different ages in people's lives, ranging from teenage romance to the onset of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. Among the more often-quoted stories in this work are "Sam, Soren and Ed" which introduced characters Vanderhaeghe would later feature in his first novel, ''

My Present Age ''My Present Age'' is the title of a Canadian novel by Guy Vanderhaeghe which was first published in 1984. This was Vanderhaeghe's first full-length novel after his Governor General's Award-winning debut, the short story collection ''Man Descendin ...

'', and "The Expatriates' Party" in which a high school teacher launches a profanity-laced tirade against a troublesome student. Several stories in this collection were previously published in Canadian literary journals, magazines, and compilations. One story, "Reunion", was later reprinted in an edition of '' Best American Short Stories'', even though its author was Canadian. A short film by Raymond Lorenz and Neil Grieve, based upon the story "Man Descending", was nominated for the Genie Award for Best Theatrical Short Film at the

12th Genie Awards The 12th Genie Awards were held on November 26, 1991, and honoured Canadian films released in 1990 and 1991."Genies undergo changes". ''The Globe and Mail'', November 26, 1991. The ceremony was hosted by actor Leslie Nielsen Following the disast ...

. Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Rutledge's 2008 album ''

Man Descending ''Man Descending'' is a collection of short stories written by Saskatchewan-born writer Guy Vanderhaeghe. The book was first published by Macmillan of Canada in 1982 and Vanderhaeghe went on to become one of the few first-time authors to win the ...

'' was also named for the book."For the Record: Justin Rutledge's Man Descending"
CBC Radio 3, April 16, 2008.

Story list

# The Watcher # Reunion # How the Story Ends # What I Learned from Caesar # Drummer # Cages # Going to Russia # A Taste for Perfection # The Expatriates' Party # Dancing Bear # Man Descending # Sam, Soren and Ed

References

1982 short story collections Short story collections by Guy Vanderhaeghe New Canadian Library Governor General's Award-winning fiction books Macmillan Publishers books {{1980s-story-collection-stub